Termination

He had calculated the battle, the hearts of the people, and the rules—but this variable was the one thing he had failed to account for.

The support player from Huaqing Academy had actually been a monster capable of locking down the entire field all by herself.

This time, he had fallen behind the meta. An old character that had suddenly received a massive buff had caught him completely off guard. He had miscalculated.

[Holy crap.]

[Wifey is so cool! Is this Word Spirit? She should rename it Divine Oracle.]

[Brother Ao’s face says: Who am I? Where am I? What was I doing just now? My entire worldview is being rewritten.]

[Why does Jailbird Ao keep getting buffed and still remain locked up?]

“Heh… hehehe…”

Two dry chuckles squeezed out of Bai Huanran’s throat as he tried to hide the stiffness on his face with a laugh.

“Junior Sister Su, it was just a joke. It’s only a match—there’s no need to take it so seriously.”

He tried to make his tone sound more relaxed. “We surrender, all right? We surrender.”

Su Yuehe looked at him and gently shook her head.

“Do it yourselves. Crush all your terminals.”

Her voice remained soft. “Including the one belonging to your friend hiding in the shadows. This is the last shred of dignity I can offer you.”

Bai Huanran’s hide-and-seek strategy had indeed been troublesome. Su Yuehe knew that her own team lacked anyone with perception abilities. If they had to name someone who came close, it would only be the all-rounder Chen Guan.

Searching the entire area would take too long, and anything could happen in the meantime.

Su Yuehe disliked uncertainty.

Bai Huanran raised his head and met Su Yuehe’s gaze. His voice was bitter.

“I understand. I admit defeat.”

Seeing him concede, Su Yuehe looked at Bai Huanran and uttered a single word.

“Release.”

The invisible shackles binding everyone shattered with a boom.

The students from Beishi Academy gasped like drowning men who had finally surfaced for air. Several of them collapsed onto the ground as their legs gave way.

Bai Huanran took a deep breath. He did not look at the miserable state of his teammates. Instead, he slowly raised his left hand.

The blue identification terminal gleamed harshly in his eyes.

He gave a bitter smile and swept his gaze over his teammates.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

With that, he no longer hesitated. He pressed down hard with his thumb.

Crack.

The crisp sound of shattering echoed across the silent plaza.

Blue light enveloped Bai Huanran, and his figure began to turn transparent.

He took one last look at the people from Huaqing Academy. His gaze lingered on Shan Heng for two extra seconds, filled with complicated emotions—unwillingness, admiration, and, in the end, a silent sigh.

No matter how much he hated them, he could only regret that such a genius did not belong to his own team.

The light faded.

With their captain setting the example, the remaining students from Beishi Academy wore resolute expressions.

Supporting one another, they struggled to their feet and straightened their battered combat uniforms. Then, one after another, they cleanly crushed their terminals.

Pillars of blue light rose across the plaza in succession, like a grand and tragic fireworks display.

A moment later, only the people from Huaqing Academy remained in the plaza, along with the final member of Beishi Academy, who had been hiding in the shadows some distance away.

He stepped out from behind the corner of a building, a wry smile on his face. He raised his wrist toward Qin Wu and the others from afar, choosing to eliminate himself as well.

At this point, every member of Beishi Academy had been eliminated.

“Whew…”

Su Yuehe let out a long breath. The color drained from her face, and her body swayed. An Changqing caught her in time.

“Are you all right?” An Changqing asked with concern in his voice.

“I’m fine. I’m just a little drained.” Su Yuehe shook her head. After catching her breath, she continued, “I’ll be fine after I rest a bit.”

Chen Guan listened silently from the side and glanced at Su Yuehe.

Even he wanted to shout, Holy crap, someone’s cheating!

The potential ceiling of the Word Spirit ability was truly terrifying. Was this the power of a hero?

Chen Guan could not help thinking of that ancient corpse. If Su Yuehe was already this absurdly powerful, then how strong had he been when he was alive?

What about Baal at his peak?

This world was far too dangerous.

“All right, stop crowding around Yuehe. Let her rest properly.”

Qin Wu walked over and patted Long Ao on the shoulder before turning his gaze toward Shan Heng, who had been standing in the back.

He walked up to Shan Heng. The student council president, who was usually so imposing, now wore a solemn expression.

“Junior Shan Heng.”

“Y-Yes!”

Shan Heng instinctively straightened his back.

Qin Wu looked at him and suddenly smiled, his expression full of approval.

He reached out and gave Shan Heng’s shoulder a firm pat.

“You did a great job this time.”

Shan Heng’s face flushed bright red. Excitement shone in his eyes behind his lenses. He opened his mouth, but not knowing what to say, could only wave his hands repeatedly.

“N-No, it was all thanks to the seniors…”

“Don’t be so modest.”

Long Ao came over as well, slung an arm around his neck, and vigorously ruffled his hair.

“You’ve got some serious brains, kid. You’re even quicker on the draw than I am. From now on, you’re my brother!”

Shan Heng nearly choked from being squeezed by his arm, and his glasses were knocked askew, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

“All right. This isn’t the time to celebrate.”

An Changqing’s voice brought everyone back to their senses.

His gaze turned toward the strange patch of scorched earth in the center of the plaza.

“We haven’t dealt with that thing yet.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone’s attention focused once more on the ominous area.

The hyenas had been driven away. Now, they could finally face the true monster lurking in the shadows without distraction.

The area was frighteningly quiet, like a black hole waiting to devour anyone who approached.

Since the area had been cleared but the match still had not been declared over, there could only be one explanation: this really was a hidden stage.

“Chen Guan.”

An Changqing suddenly spoke. “What do you sense?”

He trusted Chen Guan’s extraordinary perception.

At An Changqing’s words, everyone’s gaze fell on the scorched earth.

A full minute later, Chen Guan finally looked away and shook his head.

“I can’t sense anything.”

He was not a professional, after all. With so many people around, even Baal refused to show himself, afraid that the old monsters watching from outside would kill him instantly.

There was nothing at all. And that itself was the biggest problem.

Qin Wu spoke grimly. “The unknown is always more terrifying than the known.”

“If you’re afraid, then don’t waste time.”

Su Yuehe’s voice was still weak, but her thoughts remained exceptionally clear.

“The match isn’t over yet. Since that thing isn’t attacking us on its own, there’s no need for us to provoke it. Resting and recovering should come first.”

“Yuehe is right.”

Qin Wu nodded in agreement. He was just as puzzled by this little incident. It was the first time anything like this had ever happened.

There had been no explanation and no instructions. No one knew what this trial was testing.

Still, Qin Wu remained confident. They could not possibly have been given something too far beyond their level. As the defending champions, his team would surely overcome this challenge.